Upcoming iPhone games - Tiny Troopers, Pocket Heroes, and more

Every Friday, we like to finish off the week by looking ahead and talking about the iPhone and iPad games that are just over the horizon.

We're on the cusp of the busiest two weeks in the Pocket Gamer calendar. First up, the E3 Expo is currently being shaken like a fizzy drink, waiting to be uncapped so it can spray its 3DS and Vita games all over our shoes.

Then, a week later, Apple will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), and who knows what might come out of Tim Cook's mouth. Needless to say, PG crew members will be in town for both events, supplying you with hands-ons, news reports, and interviews around the clock.

Oh, and they'll also find some time to play these iOS-bound games, of course.

Note: Dates, prices, and features are subject to change at the whim of the developer and Apple's approval team. Dates were correct at time of publication.

Here's the elevator pitch for F5's Pocket Heroes: party-based RPG Dungeons and Dragons gets freaky with an asynchronous title like Words With Friendsor Draw Something.

So, you'll team up with up to three online pals and go off on miniature quests, but you can take your turn - marching through a dungeon, perhaps, or wailing on a skeletal enemy - whenever it suits you. It's the party role-playing game for the busy hero.

Before you embark on the game's hand-crafted quests, you can choose from six different character classes, including paladin and priestess. On the opposing side, there are over 20 different enemy types with their own attacks and abilities.

To win, you'll need to co-ordinate your moves with your party, so the built-in chat system will let you discuss tactics and share secrets. Also, bigger parties get better rewards.

Publisher Ayopa Games has slapped a June 7th release date on the game's product page, but developer F5 warns that the oft-delayed game is still in the works on its blog.

Chillingo-published Tiny Troopers is the answer to a question that any Amiga-toting Brit of the '90s has asked: 'where the heck is Cannon Fodder for iOS?'

As in Sensible Software's seminal commander sim, Tiny Troopers offers you a top-down view of the battlefield onto which you will lead your pint-size infantry into war. Just tap on land to move, and tap on baddies to shoot.

There are 30 missions, and each has its own objectives and rules. In one, you must escort a war reporter through a hail of gunfire. In another, you've got to escape the wreckage of your downed chopper.

Here's an ambitious idea. In Roblade, you build your own fully functioning death-bot out of mechanical bits and pieces by mixing and matching scrap parts.

There are 30 different arms, legs, and lethal whirring blades from which to pick, and you can snap them together like Lego.

Once your custom robo-warrior has been crafted, you can enter the arena to duke it out with other combatants and massive boss monsters. The fights are physics-based affairs, and all your bits can be sliced off and cut in half (if you wander too close to a blade).

If you win a bunch of money in the game's fighting tournaments, you can outfit your mechanised brawler with new parts, batteries, and even rocket launchers.